Raleigh/Durham to Washington

What the Data Says About RDU to DCA

The Raleigh/Durham to Washington corridor (RDU → DCA) covers roughly 227 miles and is served by 32 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,305 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 76.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,691 flights were recorded on this pairing — 135 cancelled (2.9%) and 11 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 32 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,305 total flights analyzed, the 77.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 76.6-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Oct 2025 came in at 49% on-time — a 38-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the RDU to DCA route, the combination of a 77.9% on-time rate, 76.6-minute average delay, 2.9% recent cancellation rate, and 32 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.